What You Wish For
by shadow-lupine
Summary: When Bruce is kidnaped the team has to pull together to find out what's going on. Unfortunately the answer isn't that simple. BrucexTony
1. 1 In which something goes missing?

What You Wish For

Chapter One

Warnings: Swearing, scenes of a mild sexual nature, slight gore.

Word Count: 1,238

Summary: When Bruce is kidnaped the team has to pull together to find out what's going on. Unfortunately the answer isn't that simple.

Pairing: Bruce/Tony

A/N: I wanted to try my hand at a longer, more plot driven piece. This is technically set in the same universe as "You and Me" but you don't need to read it. Also you should be aware that my Thor, and probably to a lesser extent, my Cap and my Tony might have traces of their Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes counterparts because I've been watching that for the past week. And it is rather spectacular. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

* * *

It was bliss, Tony decided. Pure bliss to wake up like this.

It had taken months for Tony and Bruce to get to this point in their relationship. Bruce was still too wary to allow himself to sleep next to Tony. Even if Bruce couldn't deny the fun of making out in his bed, when he got too sleepy, or too worked up as the case may be, he would slide off the bed, throw an apologetic smile at Tony and retreat back to the safety of his room. Tony understood, of course, but the monitors that he had placed all around the mansion told him that Bruce wasn't _that_ close to transforming. He just needed a confidence boost, Tony decided, something to give him the faith that Tony had in the guy and his ability to not transform. It was kind of weird, Tony thought, to have more trust in someone than they had in themselves but nonetheless, after Bruce had fallen asleep on his shoulder while they were watching some outdated documentary, Tony managed to get Bruce to agree to a "trial run" of sorts for sleeping in the same bed with him.

Nuzzling in closer to Bruce's back, Tony commended himself on a great test run. Getting Bruce relaxed enough to sleep was the second best thing to waking up curled around him, running his hands up and across the broad expanse of Bruce's back again and again until he had looked up at him, so sleepy and so fucking _trusting _that Tony couldn't help but to press kisses across the path that his hands had previously travelled before, finally, lying down to sleep.

Tony made an executive decision for the both of them to wake up like this every day. Legs entwined, practically fused together, with Tony's face snuggled securely into the back of Bruce's neck. People wouldn't usually peg Tony, or Bruce for that matter, as particularly cuddly, but they were too used to the things they held dear leaving to not grip it tightly when they could.

The man he was wrapped around gave a fidget, signalling that he was awake. Tony pressed a kiss to the nape of his companion's neck and tried to turn the force of his smile down from 'manic' to 'pleased' and failed.

"Good morning Bruce" he chirped.

"Morning Tony." Bruce didn't chirp nearly as much, but upon turning around revealed a genuine smile of his own. Tony leant around and pressed a kiss to Bruce's lips before rising. As much as lazing in bed was fun, they had stuff to do.

* * *

One lengthy shower, a short meal and a medium length plane ride later, the two scientists found themselves on the S.H.E.I.L.D helicarrier alongside the rest of the newly formed "Avengers". Natasha was patiently sitting, Barton looked like he was about to fall asleep (as usual) and Steve looked almost worried. So business as usual. Bruce sat and Tony lounged just as Fury walked in, poker face firmly intact.

"What's up?" Tony asked.

"It seems as though we have a serial killer on the loose" came the statement from the Director.

"And that concerns us how?" There was something satisfying, Tony found, about pissing Fury off this early in the morning.

"Because, Stark, the guy's knocking off all the big names in the engineering industry. Everything from dishwashers to armoured vehicles. And this guy is good. Real good."

"You still haven't mentioned why we're involved."

"You think he's going to go after Tony?" Bruce queried, looking stricken. Natasha's hand moved a few millimetres closer to her gun. After an awkward half-pause Fury answered.

"Possibly. But that's not the reason we need you. As I mentioned, this guy's good. Space age good. No one sees him, no one hears him, and no one can track him. We think he could be using advanced tech, and a specialist team is needed to bring him down."

"Hmm. Sounds good. Only I didn't think that we were attack dogs for S.H.E.I.L.D." Tony interjected. Steve sighed. Added bonus.

"You are what you are needed to be. Are we clear on that? You might not be attack dogs, but you are a response team, and this needs a super strong response. Understand?"

"Yes sir." Steve looked serious. "We'll get the job done."

"I'm counting on it. There's debriefing packets waiting for you back at… Avengers Tower." And with that, Fury made his exit, back cape flowing behind him and Agent Hill striding confidently at his side.

* * *

They were at the tower when it happened. Surrounded by thick walls and reinforced glass, they examined what they knew about the new 'villain'. The only connecting feature between all the kills was that they were all engineers and they all, gruesomely, had their hearts ripped out. Having seen the rougher side of life, the heroes weren't exactly throwing up from shock, but a few mouths tightened and a few fists clenched when JARVIS brought up the bloody pictures. Most were just normal guys, black jacket, blue tie kind of poeple. Not the sort that usually wore blood splatters all over their faces and decorated with such large amounts of red liquid in a Pollock-esque kind of way. No one liked seeing innocent lives being wasted, especially by yet another deranged lunatic.

They began discussing tactics and methods. Natasha wanted to go undercover immediately. Hawkeye wanted to set up a surveillance on likely suspects, Tony wanted to run all the variables through a computer simulation to find out who it was, with Bruce agreeing.

No one found out what Steve wanted to do, because just as he opened his mouth came a very large bang.

Some sort of smoke grenade was impossibly projected though the apparent "impenetrable" windows. A seemingly non-toxic smoke filled the room, making it impossible to do much else but duck for cover while another, more explode-y and lethal bomb was thrown through the hole.

"JARVIS, who is attacking us?" choked out Tony, pulling on the helm of the Iron Man suit.

"No one is sir. The tower's perimeters have not been breached"

"Like hell they haven't"

"I'm sorry sir. But the sensors do not pick up any traces of movement, whatever the… physical evidence may suggest."

"Show yourself!" Natasha commanded, fruitlessly. She drew both her guns and threw her most menacing glare, if anyone could see it through the smoke, but nothing more came. Once the smoke had cleared enough they leapt into action among the broken rubble, drawing weapons. Yet JARVIS had been right, there was no one attacking. Just a very large hole in the wall and something very, very important missing.

"Bruce? Where the hell is Bruce?"

* * *

A/N Hey guys, I just wanted to know if you think I should add in more description or anything. Personally I'm a fan of writing with only a little bot of description, so I tend not to do it a lot. Mostly because if you ask me to imagine more than one thing at a time I get confused. Small brain is small. I want a plot and I want it now!

But if you think that adding it will make reading this story more enjoyable, or if you have any other advice to this extent, don't hesitate to tell me!


	2. Anger and Ideas

What You Wish For

Chapter Two

Word Count: 1,240

* * *

"Bruce? Where's Bruce?" Tony sounded worried, but not panicked. "JARVIS, can you find Doctor Banner for me?"

"I'm sorry sir, but Doctor Banner does not appear to be in the tower"

"Do you have a record of him leaving?"

"It appears that Doctor Banner has not left the tower sir."

"How the hell does that work? Did he disapperate or something?" Steve looked confused and glanced at Clint in confusion. Tony saw him mouth the word 'later' at the Super Soldier.

"Okay. We should… look for clues. JARVIS, do a full scan, see if you can find anything." Natasha and Clint leapt into action. Barton stationed himself on a large heap of rubble and started calling out observations to the heroes below

"Blast came from the west wall, the boom-y grenade seems to be a standard issue, judging from the blast radius and the shrapnel configuration. Tasha, can you see any signs of a struggle? Looks like if they were going to take him, they'd have to either use the door or the blast hole."

Natasha and Steve here searching in the direction that Clint had pointed out while Tony looked at the results JARIS had pulled up from the air. He had isolated the compound that must've been in the gas and, by habit, he started speaking aloud to the floating lines of lights that formed the screen in front of him.

"It's a chemical mixture all right. Relatively non-toxic, I think. Curious amounts of an unidentified radiation and many undefined substances, which we'll get right on analysing. Seems to have a sedative compound in it, though not one that seems to be particularly effective on humans…."

"Do you think it could have been to keep the Hulk down?" Natasha asked sharply

"Perhaps. You guys find anything yet?"

"Not much, Steve? Clint? How about you?" replied The Widow.

Clint replied in the negative, but Steve made a noise of surprise and called them over. Stuffed into a crack on the wall was a plain white envelope. He gently removed it and they took it into one of the labs, away from all the dust and rubble.

They gently prised open the packet to reveal, of all things, a candy heart.

_Hi Babe_

"That's creepy" Clint managed to sum up what they were all thinking succinctly.

"A sign." Steve looked disturbed. "So what do we do now?"

"Go to Fury?" Clint suggested, Natasha nodded.

* * *

"Banner's gone?"

"Kidnapped. We think."

'What evidence do you have of that, Barton?"

"…He's gone. JARVIS didn't record him leaving."

"And he's not just playing another game of hide and seek?" Tony cut in at that, angry that the disappearance of his boyfriends wasn't being taken seriously by the man.

"Look. We're sure. Attack plus no Bruce plus no Hulk plus no sign of him leaving of his own free will means something's not right. And we have a clue."

Fury raised the eyebrow of his good eye at them "a clue?" they showed him a few pictures of the sweet.

"You've sent it for analysis I'm guessing?" Steve nodded. Fury seemed unimpressed. Tony sucked air in through his teeth.

"Look. Are you going to help us on this or aren't you? Because I have better things to do with my time than sit here trying to make you see the truth. This is time sensitive, Fury. The longer we leave this, the worse it gets."

"Supposing this was a… kidnapping. What exactly do you want me to do?"

"You've got connections to every wireless device in the world. Use them. I'll tackle the science, see if the gas can point us in the right direction. Natasha, Clint, you have contacts. Get in touch with whoever you can."

"I'll uh, keep an eye on things here for now?" Steve offered. Tony nodded, glad that, for once, everyone seemed to be cooperating with him. If he had looked in a mirror at that moment, he would have discovered that his face showed every hint of rage and frustration that he was feeling. But Tony prided himself on maintain his façade in the important times, so remained oblivious.

So they went their separate ways. Tony retreated back to Avengers Tower rather than go back the mansion on his own. He threw himself into his research but his mind kept rebounding back to Bruce.

He was sure it was a kidnap. Nothing else seemed possible. Bruce wouldn't just _leave_him. Not like that, not in the middle of a fight. Would he? And what was up with those undetectable attackers? How could JARVIS not pick them up? Why would they want Bruce? And what the hell was with the creepy candy heart in the creepy white envelope like it was left by a creepy mid-September Valentine?

Tony tried to focus his mind. He _would_ answer the questions, but for now he needed to focus on extrapolating the molecules from the gas into its components. He had a feeling that it wasn't something that one could just get from a local convenience store, and by breaking it down they could track it back to the producer and then to the buyer. He would do whatever it took to get Bruce back.

It was becoming well past midnight, but instead of retiring to bed, like Bruce would make him do, he retired to the coffee maker. With no lips to kiss or a warm body to press against, sleep would always be elusive to the engineer, save by collapse or some sort of drug related interference. He was on his third cup, which he was struggling not to put alcohol in, when Cap arrived back. Who wouldn't want to give their all-American hero a lift back in their jet?

"Anything?" They asked tiredly at the same time, their questions betraying their answers. Steve sat in the stool next to Tony's. Bruce's stool. And placed a hand on his shoulder, which Tony promptly shrugged off.

"We'll find him Tony. It's been less than 24 hours"

"I know we will. Of course we will."

Steve sighed. "Banner was a good man." He lifted the corner of his mouth. "He made you better too". Sometimes Tony forgot that Cap had a brain, instead of a second heart in his head to hold all the pride and patriotism that came with his title and job. Not that Tony could really talk, all things considered.

"Is a good man. He's still alive. I mean, it's not like he'd be easy to kill"

Steve gave what could almost be a chuckle. "The lot of us, we're pretty good on the not-dying front aren't we? Ice, space, a murderous alter-ego. Not to mention the millions of situations that Clint and Natasha get themselves into."

It was Tony's turn to lift the corner of his mouth. "Yeah. It's kinda part of the job description. Superheroes. More like experiments gone wrong. No offense."

Steve's face coloured with a touch of bitterness, like wispy clouds making an attempt to cover the sun. "None taken. I'm about as gone wrong as the rest of us at times."

"Maybe we can send you to…." Tony stood up quickly, eyes wide. "That's it!"

"What's it?"

"We'll go have a talk with an old _pal_ of Bruce's. General Ross."

Steve didn't bother to raise his eyebrow. Just nodded and followed Tony out of the room.


	3. In Which General Ross is a twat

WYWF

Chapter 3

Warnings: I am an arts student. My scientific education in limited to high school chemistry/Biology and science fiction novels. Stuff will be made up.

Word Count: 1,543

* * *

General Ross, it appeared, did not like being disturbed this early in the morning. Tony did not give two hoots. Situated in a military base out in the open plains, Ross made all the promising recruits and soldiers into special force teams. It was technically "sideways movement" but everyone knew it was to keep the man out of trouble. There was nothing by ambition and cunning behind the stupid moustache he wore. Steve and Tony didn't miss that he didn't offer them a drink when they entered his office.

Steve didn't like Ross from the first moment he saw him. He could tell that Tony didn't from his aggressive posture and excess of… Tony-ness. This guy just looked like a bully. A sell your soul simply because it's not mine bully. He stood next to the 'Iron' suited man and gave the general a hard stare though he kept quiet. This was Tony's round.

"So. What can I do you boys for?" Ross' tone suggested that unless the thing that they wanted was for him to plant a boot up their asses, it probably wasn't going to be obliged.

"We're trying to find Banner. He was kidnapped and we think some of your tech has been used to do so. "

Ross gave a bitter laugh "you mean _your _tech, Stark. It's got you name all over it." Steve was aching to hit him. "And I'm not allowed to find Banner any more. Remember? I know you had a hand in that too."

"The grenades, Ross. It was _you_ who developed a gas to sedate The Hulk. It was _you_ who came up with the idea. I just designed the launcher. It's _your_ tech". It hurt, sometimes, for Tony to be reminded of his past. Some things couldn't always be wiped out, not every invention could be unmade.

"It's no longer in my possesion." There was more bitterness. Neither of the two heroes doubted that if he had the tech, that he would be out there chasing Bruce again.

"Why? Did you lose it? Gone geriatric already?" Tony gave a sarcastic smile. "Though I guess it's always been a bit late for that, hasn't it?" "Don't let it get to you" Steve muttered. He had a sinking feeling that this was going to end in bloodshed.

"You think they let me keep any of it? Bastards at S.H.I.E.L.D took it all. Besides, that gas never worked. We tried it on The Hulk once, trapped him in a library, of all places. He just jumped right out at us." Ross was getting angry now, the corner of his eye was twitching. If this ended without someone getting hurt now, Steve would eat his shield. He thought about Banner and how much the guy reminded him sometimes of his littler self. They made the Hulk because of him, he thought. If he hadn't agreed to the experiment, would they have given up? If he had not been frozen in the ice, would they still be trying to recreate him?

Tony was getting visibly pissed off too, but Ross continued. "Bastards. We were damn near certain the latest batch was going to work too. Then they stopped our research, told us to clear out. All I wanted was that guy's head on my wall. And not for selfish reasons either like everyone seems to think. The Hulk is a menace. A monster, just you wait. One day he will tear everything apart and I won't be there to stop him. It always happens, and then you'll be sorry, you'll see!" He broke out into a gruff, malevolent chuckle.

In the end, it wasn't about breaking Tony's control but Steve's. He punched the guy out before Tony's propulsion beams could injure Ross, hitting the wall behind him instead and showering the general in shards of broken glass from the window above him.

He was getting far too used to casually walking out of broken buildings for his liking.

"So what now?" Steve questioned.

"We find out where Ross' stuff has gone."

"So, back to Fury?"

"You go. I'll get JARVIS to track down the files and see how the analysis of the gas is going."

* * *

Back in the lab, Tony looked at the results. He'd read up on the subject of human/mutant sedation last night along with the relevant case notes. He found that it was nearly impossible to fully sedate the Hulk, owing to the chemical mix that flooded the mutant body along with all the gamma. Most of the research was purely hypothetical, speculation on the composition of the Hulk's blood as well as a few assumptions made on the variables of the experiment. Not just anyone could manufacture a product like this, Tony realised. He got JARVIS to compile a list of prominent chemists and bioengineers while he took a closer look at the composition of the gas, projecting a swirl of molecules up around his desk. The blue glow from the compounds reflected off the clean, white surfaces of what was going to be Bruce's lab, the eerie but now long past familiar light didn't throw shadows. Tony sorted through the shapes with ease, casting off the easily obtained chemicals with a either a gentle wave of his hand or by picking up the orbs and throwing them at the literal waste basket. It took almost an hour of sorting and researching before he made any progress. Tri-methylsiloxphenyl, not something your average chemist would stock. Laboratory made, highly dangerous, the merest whiff could cause comas. Tony had to be impressed, despite what it had been used for. To modify that to be human friendly but Hulk tranquilising, that took more than smarts. It took genius. He wondered when it had started to affect Bruce. Was it right at the start of his transformation or did he have to be fully transformed? It was a complex thing that happened, and he hoped desperately no permanent damage had been done. Or was being done now.

He exited the lab and wend up to the penthouse, where their rooms were, and guiltily crossed to the bar. Bruce wasn't here. No one would tell him off for having a drink now. Among Tony's _abundant_ virtues, self-control was never one of them. He relished in the burn that stung his throat, marking it as much more preferable to the lump that had been lingering there all day. It was like being back in the old days. In the days before Pepper, when he had no one and nothing to stop him from sliding off the cliff of rationality. Back then he had gone over gladly; he had succumbed to drink, to sex. He had killed people. He had thought that some people deserved to die, but that was before he had been placed in the grips of death himself. He was different now, he kept reminding himself he was better. But that didn't stop the second glass. Or the third. He rationalised it out. He did his best work while drunk, look at JARVIS, Dummy, and the rest. It cleared his mind by silencing the hole in his heart.

Oh. Right. Shit. _His heart._

The random-ass stalker candy, as he like to call it, made sense now. That crazy serial killer that Fury told them about. The one that removed his victim's hearts.

See? We was good when he was drunk.

The rest of the Avengers, minus the obvious, burst into the room. Steve gave the glass in his hand a look as Natasha spoke

"Tony. We think we know who took Bruce."

"Does it have to do with the stalker candy? "

Clint chuckled at 'stalker candy'. "Yes, actually. How did you know?"

Tony gave them his best 'are you stupid?' look before answering. "Because I'm a genius. The real question is how did _you _know?"

Natasha gave a sigh. It was back to this was it? She hid a smile when she thought about calling Pepper. She wouldn't take any more of this. But that was a bit cruel. On Tony.

"There's been another one" she replied, stepping forward to take his glass. There was another chuckle from Clint when Tony pouted at the loss of his glass and she threw a killer's glare at him.

"Another one? Where?" Something had finally provoked a near-serious response from Stark.

"On the door in from the Avenger's Tower heli-carrier." Steve produced an identical envelope to the one before. Tony took it and opened it. Another candy was revealed.

I've got ur heart

"I don't think that's standard issue." Everyone turned to look at Clint who shrugged a bit and rather notably kept his eyes of a certain Russian agent. "Not that I'm an expert or anything."

"Right." Said Steve. "So we think the heart guy is the candy guy? There's a theme, but could it be a coincidence?"

"Maybe no one looked properly? We all know what agents are like. JARVIS, get me the photos of the crime scenes, scan for white envelops and heart shaped candy." The photos in question were projected onto the darkened windows of the penthouse, boxes flashed around the aforementioned objects and enlarged. Every single one had a white envelope and more than half showed the heart shaped candy.

"Seems like we have a connection" said Natasha softly.

* * *

A/N: Fun fact: Tri-Methysiloxpheynl Dimethione is an ingredient in my lipstick. Also, I failed organic chemistry at school.


	4. The Avengers do something silly

WYWF

Chapter Four

Word Count: 2,195

* * *

The list of people who could make the Hulk-sedative was varied, but not very long. "Cross match it with what the others found out" instructed Tony. He looked at the others "uh… What did you find out?"

"That Ross' tech was taken by S.H.I.E.L.D" Stated Steve.

Tony shrugged. "That narrows it down a lot. And somehow doesn't surprise me. JARVIS, who among these people have access to S.H.I.E.L.D?"

Five names proved viable in the end:

**Max Schneider**

**Lillian Hope**

**Henry Lee**

**Joe Sanford**

**Meredith West**

Tony got JARVIS to bring up the profiles of the new suspects. "Let's see. Schneider was taken out five years ago due to injury. Head trauma. I doubt he could do anything now. Hope is viable, but doesn't have the clearance to access any of the fun stuff. Lee has a brother in S.H.I.E.L.D, a high up. Used to work for Stark Industries? Well, we screened all the newbies for intelligence so I guess he can't have been that bright."

"He is on the list, don't forget." Interrupted Steve. Tony seemed affronted at the suggestion.

"I'll have you know that my screening procedures were created by the best minds in the country. Anyone with any promise of greatness would have been brought to my attention and-"

"Squashed down?" Natasha suggested dryly. Tony's mouth tightened. He ignored her statement and continued. "Sanford's the one I think we should focus on. He's on the bomb squad, and it doesn't look like he's the detonating type. Apparently he's been reprimanded a few times for, quote, unquote 'being too creative'".

"I know the guy." Confirmed Natasha. 'He could do it. Genius, but with his head up his ass, like most of them are." She looked pointedly at Tony before continuing. "He could probably be brought if you paid him enough, the mans… greedy."

"I've seen him around too. The guy's a bit of a twat." Barton confirmed. Natasha nodded and suggested her plan.

"Tony, you keep Fury busy while Hawk and Cap, you go find Ross' tech. See if anything's missing. I'll handle Sanford, offer to pay him big money if he can make me a Hulk sedative. If he manages it, we can compare it to the sample and see if we've got a match. Sound good?"

* * *

_**Black Widow's 'Adventure'**_

Getting onto the base was easy. Splitting up was as simple as ducking into a bathroom and letting the others go ahead of her. If caught, she would make up a story about leaving something in her old office. The assassin walked calmly down the halls. She had learned far too many years ago that the best way to go unnoticed was to blend in. She knew where Sanford was. Third floor, laboratory 5. He had three assistants, but they should be out at lunch, something she had learnt that scientists rarely did, so he would most likely be present. Not that she didn't have at least twelve back up plans in case something went wrong.

Maybe it should bother her, how easy it was to slip back into assassin mode, even if she wasn't actively trying to kill anyone. Maybe it should bother her how little it bothered her. She'd made some sort of peace with her past, not hiding from it, but not confronting it either. She was what she was, and that's the thing that let her sleep at night. The Black Widow nodded to a couple of the patrolling guards on her way through, and they nodded back.

She entered the lab silently; Sanford was too engrossed in his work to hear the door opening, even if he could hear her footsteps approaching. He had a paunchy frame and short grey hair with round glasses and an even rounder face. Natasha stopped a few feet away and cleared her throat before jumping right in, using her 'I'm a professional agent, but you can also trust me because I'm a woman' voice, much like the one she had tried to use on Banner all that time ago.

"Mister Sanford, my name is Natasha Romanoff I have a proposition for you."

He widened his light blue eyes at her and cleaned his glasses pedantically. "For me? What is it you are after?" his voice was reedy and grated on her nerves.

He was obviously playing dumb from the way that his eyes travelled up and down her body when his glasses were placed back on his nose. Natasha had met many, many, guys like this in her line of work. And not one of them had ever gone without pain in the end. She smiled as pleasantly as she could, knowing the effect it often had.

"Look. I'm in in a bit of a pickle" cue self-depreciating laugh. "I'm a bit… scared".

Sanford brought it like a blonde model presented with tiny dogs. "Scared? Well what can I do to help?" the guy almost seemed genuinely interested.

"It's Banner. I know I'm not supposed to speak ill of a colleague, but, well… you know how he is." She swallowed and looked him straight in the eye. "I want something that can bring him down if it becomes necessary. Not kill him. But let's just say I'd sleep a lot easier if I could make him do so as well."

Sanford gave what he must have thought was a sympathetic smile and gently patted her hand. "Now now my dear. I'm sure we'd all like to have some sort of security against these things, but to make a sedative for the Hulk?" he tittered "it would take an awful lot of time, not to mention resources and research."

"I know it would, sir, and that's why I'm willing to pay. When my parents died, they left me everything they had, which was… not a small amount. Far more than I could use in any one lifetime. Possibly even more than Stark could use in a year." That got a laugh out of him. Good. Laughter was good.

"Alright. I shall see what I can do. But no promises! In fact I don't see why we can't—"

He was shut off by the door opening again. But instead of the expected lab assistant, there was a highly unamused Nick Fury. Sanford paled.

"Agent Romanoff." Fury jerked his head outside. Natasha nodded and followed him out.

* * *

_**Captain America's 'Adventure'**_

Technically, when they had called in, only Tony and Clint had said they were going to visit Fury, so Steve felt like he was in the clear enough to break off at a corner and leave his companions after Natasha had ducked out. He took the same path as he had done on the quest to find the alien weaponry and laughed when he saw how reinforced the door had become. Still smiling, he reached into the pocket of his civilian styled pants (though seeing as Tony had brought them, he doubted that most civilians could afford such pants) and drew out a little mechanical circle. Placing the apparent 'bug' on the lock, Steve was impressed at the speed at which the 'access granted' light came up and the door smoothly swung open.

Stalking inside, he looked around at the stacks of cases. It had to be in here somewhere. Thankfully, Tony had yet another invention to make this easier. A simple tracker that hacked into the tracking chip that was placed into each case and was logged with its contents. The clear rectangle on his hand showed a map of the place, complete with a glowing red dot.

Even after all this time in the future, Steve was amazed at what technology could do. He couldn't help but mentally put it into his memories of before. Could he have saved more people if he had this sort of technology back then? He knew, rationally, that the elder Stark couldn't have produced it and brushed off his meandering thoughts. He had a task.

Creeping further and further in, the air got colder and developed a chemical like taste from the conditioning units that rested well above his head. His footsteps still echoed quietly in the cold metal chamber, but he doubted anyone was there to hear them. Finally, he reached the place where the red dot was glowing on the screen. It was a stack, about eight high of silver cases. He reached up and grabbed the first one. It wasn't particularly heavy so he swung it down to his feet. Kneeling down on one knee, he reached for the clasp. He flicked it open when a torchlight fell on his face.

Squinting up at the figure, who thankfully moved the light down, he made out Maria Hill, Fury's feminine mini-me. She gave him a kind, almost condescending smile and held up a hand to help him up.

"Captain, this way please. And would you mind putting the case back? I'm a little bit too short."

Steve sighed. "Yes ma'am."

* * *

_**Hawkeye's 'Adventure'**_

Clint watched Natasha and Steve remove themselves quietly from the group and tried to crush the growing feeling that this really wasn't going to work. Like no one would notice two of the Avengers on the ship and not check where the others were? The arrival of their team had never meant less than total disaster, or at least a very pissed off Fury, so people were bound to get antsy when they appeared. Not that Natasha couldn't go unnoticed if she wanted to, but you only had to follow the trail of fainted women to find Steve, Clint thought with a smirk. It would be nice, but it would make discretion rather difficult and he knew which one he'd rather have.

We walked down the corridor, looking as bored as hell as a matter of habit. If someone questioned where he was going, he'd just say the cafeteria. They'd probably check anyway. He meandered further down the halls, towards the chemical bay. If they had been building a chemical gas weapon, then this is where they would keep it. There were patrols here, but he simply nodded at them and gave his best "I'm only the messenger" look. It seemed to work, as he got further and further and further into the belly of the ship. Until a woman stepped out to meet him. Brown hair, brown eyes. Hill. Godammit. She rolled her eyes at him. And gave him a look that made it clear that she was _this_ close to patting him on his head. "Agent Barton. Why don't you go get some coffee in the cafeteria?"

He nodded his head. "Right-o". And walked back the way he came.

* * *

_**Iron Man's 'Adventure'**_

Tony saw the last of the team vanish and widened his smile. So far so good. He strutted though the doors and to the computer swathed platform to wait for Fury, who stalked in less than a minute later. Tony noticed that Hill wasn't by his side was kind of relieved, that woman was kind of scary, if he did say so himself.

Fury did not beat around the bush. He got right up in Tony's personal space and looked him right in the eye. 'Stark, how dumb do you think we are?"

Tony did not move back, instead he tilted his head. "Is that a trick question?"

Fury's eye narrowed. "Do you think we don't know that you're up to something? We do actually monitor things around here."

Tony gave him his best puppy dog look. "Really? Because we're honestly not up to something."

Right behind him, an alarm sounded. An agent called up to the black-clad Fury "Sir, seems we have a security breech in the containment sector."

The Director turned towards Stark. "Really? Nothing? Is that why we have recorded _four_ Avengers entering the base and only _one_ Avenger is in my sight? Don't play _cute_ with me. What are you up to?"

"I resent the implication! Up to something!" Tony opened his mouth to continue, but Fury cut him off. "Look, I'm guessing this has something to do with Banner, am I wrong?" Tony did nothing and Fury sighed. "Look. I know you're worried. And believe it or not, we kind of are too. But there's no need to go behind our backs. We're on the same side here, and you need to realise that or I. Will. Shut. You. Down. Understand? Now _stay here._"

He didn't wait for Tony to answer before walking out.

* * *

Once the wayward Avengers had been rounded up and thoroughly dressed down like a set of rebellious teenagers, they sat down for a debriefing. All of Ross' tech had been accounted for and Sanford had been on watch for the past year, making it impossible for him to make the gas without S.H.I.E.L.D noticing. So there was another one out. Meredith West was the only one left on the list. An ex-S.H.I.E.L.D agent, now working in a top-security lab for the US government. Nothing on her records suggested she brought the elusive chemical, but as Natasha pointed out, it didn't rule out any back alley purchase.

They decided to pay her a visit.


	5. In which things get bad

What You Wish For

Chapter Five

Word count: 974

A/N: Sorry this has taken a while. Portal 2 consumed me. And then Uni.

* * *

Once properly debriefed by S.H.I.E.L.D, they set off in the direction of LA to track down Meredith West. The stress was starting to show on the team. By the time they would have gotten there, Bruce would have been gone over 24 hours. Who knew what a crazy, cut out your heart, psychopath could do in that time?

Tony was sitting tensely in the jet. He had thought that sitting would help him relax. He was wrong. Sitting mixed with his constant thoughts of Bruce left him thinking about the last time they were sitting together.

Well, Bruce wasn't sitting _exactly, _he was straddling Tony, though practically sitting in his lap, as they made out against the headboard of the billionaire's bed like teenagers. Their mouths fitted together, broke apart, then refitted in a delightful tangle of breath. They could sit here for hours, just doing this, until Tony gently swiped his lounge across Bruce's lower lip, pulling out an encouraging sound from the doctor who repeated the favour. Hands roamed respectfully, reverently, across backs, sides and chests, skitting through hair and gently stoking faces. It was enticing and comforting all at once, suspended on the brink of needing more. They withheld the urge until it became too unbearable and had to kick up the intensity, hands travelling further and further downwards until it became too much. Then Bruce, calm but panting, would do his usual and retreat off the bed with a smile. Tony wished that he had Bruce's level of control, but wished more that Bruce had less. Still, he let him go, throwing him a casual smile, telling him _that yes, it was alright, yes, we can take things slow, I don't mind. _And he meant it, really. He wanted more, thirsted for it, but Bruce came first. It was the first time in all his life that Tony Stark, textbook narcissist put a single individual before himself. And he'd do it time and time again. It was one of those moments that made you realise what exactly true love was.

Sitting in the jet, waiting while Bruce could be in any sort of trouble was making that impulse control wane fast.

Tony had been good so far, taking things logically, forming plans and getting intel. But he really just wanted to go on a rampage that would make both Thor and the Hulk proud. To rip up endless amounts of buildings and cities until he found him. To use his repulsion beams on the bastards who had done it. To go back to the days when he didn't care who was hurt, as long as he got what he wanted.

Tony abruptly stood up, opened the door to the jet and let himself fly out. He would scout ahead, he reasoned. Sitting was certainly not helping matters.

The rest of the team let him go. Tony was not fooling anyone. Natasha and Steve exchanged looks in complete understanding. They would have to be careful with Tony, they couldn't let his emotions hurt their case or make him miss some sort of vital evidence. They were both methodical, professional people. Yes they had emotions, but they had learnt to control them, they knew that if they wanted to find their lost comrade, then they would have to be cool and sharp. It hadn't slipped by them how much better Tony had become when he was with Bruce, even more than he had been with Pepper. Less impulsive, more clear headed. Slightly more scheming, they'd give him that, but he had turned into something _good. _Something good that had always been there, but covered by layers that only Bruce could peel back. They could feel him slipping back to square one. Natasha mentally prepared herself for another drunken Ironman/Ironman face off.

They continued to fly in professional silence, each glad that none of the others were particularly talkative, until Tony's voice filtered through over his comm unit.

"Guys. Something's been here before us."

True to his word, when the jet arrived at the high rise there was a big smoking hole in it. People down below had stopped their cars, though the lack of screaming indicated that it had happened a while ago. Police were at hand, calming the amassed citizens, keeping reporters busy and helping to evacuate workers from the twenty story building. They landed near the impact site, the familiar smell of burning and rubble wafting in their nostrils. Steve made enquires about the damage, and was relieved that no one was killed.

The hole was on the twelfth floor of the building, and they took the fire escape up, running when Tony swore and ordered them up here faster.

Steve gasped when he saw what was smeared across the glass panels of West's office and Clint raised an eyebrow. Natasha stared at it for a second before turning to Tony.

"Do you think it's a message?"

Tony nodded. "I'm having JARVIS analyse it now. Not that he doesn't have enough to do already" he quipped, pale faced, glancing at the drying red blood on the door, dripping viscously in the shape of a heart.

The robot butler's voice sounded out from Tony's comm. His electronic voice sounded hesitant.

"Sir, I have analysed the blood. I'm afraid it belongs to Mr Banner."

Natasha reacted first, stepping back from the blood. Clint followed suit. Steve looked at them in askance, and they quickly explained the danger of Bruce's blood. He quickly stepped back too.

Tony just stared at the heart. His mouth was set, but his light brown eyes betrayed him. He looked fragile; as if the blood had come from his own body. He swallowed harshly.

"What do we do now?"


End file.
